My brother in law and I used to joke that the manufacturers needed to offer a "nerd gear" manual transmission option on new models for people who care about fuel efficiency, and weren't horrified by the idea that you might have to occasionally downshift from top gear to climb a hill or accelerate to go around another car at freeway speeds.
That was one of the ideas that prompted me to do the transmission swap in my car.
Maybe that day is coming...
Fiat has announced that they're marketing an "Eco pack" option group on some models that includes "low rolling resistance tyres, longer gear ratios and different ECU settings."
Good for Fiat!
Let's see the companies selling in North America start taking this approach too!
Source:
Bravo for Fiat's 'Eco pack'